Bureaucrats turn to robots

Citing market demand for urban search and rescue (US&R) robots that can find victims at disaster sites, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have scheduled a public forum on rescue robot standards.

Dr. Penrose "Parney" Albright, the assistant secretary for homeland security for plans, programs, and budgets, will deliver the keynote address. The May 13 forum, to be held from 9-4 at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Md., will address testing, certification, and timelines for standards development. Ultimately those standards are intended to help the DHS advise local law enforcement organizations on buying and deploying US&R robots.